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In October, armed men from a state agency showed up unannounced at the home of an ordinary citizen, seeking to question him simply because he had sent Florida CFO Blaise Ingoglia a postcard that stated "You lack values."

Ingoglia's spokesperson subsequently blamed "an increasingly hostile political environment."

In January, Miami Beach detectives knocked at the door of another ordinary citizen and proceeded to question and caution her about a Facebook post in which she criticized Mayor Steven Meiner.

The unannounced visit — video of which went viral — happened after Meiner emailed a screenshot of the Facebook comment to the police chief. Meiner's email subject line read "Dangerous Escalation."

Now, it appears state lawmakers are seeking to formally sanction such targeting of everyday Americans who exercise their First Amendment right to express dissent.

A trio of bills quietly progressing in the Florida legislature could do just that unless they are sufficiently amended or entirely scrapped. These bills pose such a threat to constitutional rights that it makes us at Recall Florida wonder if lawmakers even read them before voting.

An amendment is reportedly in the works, but as of Tuesday, it's unknown whether it would address all the issues.

So Recall Florida urges Floridians to contact their lawmakers. Insist they stand up for foundational freedoms instead of rubber-stamping the creation of a state surveillance unit that lacks sufficient guardrails to prevent abuse.

House Bill 945, titled Statewide Counterintelligence and Counterterrorism Unit, is sponsored by Daniel "Danny" Alvarez of Hillsborough County.

It would create a division of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) "to detect, identify, neutralize, and exploit adversary intelligence entities." It would identify threats using methods such as "analyzing patterns of life," "executing arrests" and threatening to "compel a response using all counterintelligence and counterterrorism tradecraft necessary to protect the state from adversary intelligence entities."

One problem with the bill: Its definition of an "adversary intelligence entity" includes not only enemy governments but any group or person "whose demonstrated actions, views, or opinions are a threat or are inimical to the interests of this state and the United States of America."

"HB 945 is a chilling expansion of state power under the guise of security," said Shannon Lynn Capps, director of legal affairs for Recall Florida. "By proposing the creation of a counterintelligence unit to target anyone with opinions 'inimical to the interests of this state,' it moves Florida toward a 'political police' model reminiscent of the dark days of the FBI's COINTELPRO."

Perhaps even scarier is that HB 945 has caught the eye of Cellebrite. This Israeli digital intelligence company "specializes in data extraction of cell phones and accessing data without the user’s knowledge" — and has "a controversial track record in various countries around the world accused of human rights violations," according to reporting by the Florida Trident.

Another problem with HB 945: It lacks safeguards to keep power in check.

As Bob Shaw, chairman of the First Amendment Foundation, wrote in an Orlando Sentinel editorial published on Sunday:

This comes as two other FDLE-related bills, both sponsored by Sen. Erin Grall of District 29, are advancing through the Senate.

CS/SB 1632, titled Ideologies Inconsistent with American Principles, would enable the head of FDLE to designate groups as "domestic terrorist organizations," among other concerning provisions mentioned in the Florida Trident's reporting. CS/SB 1634, Public Records and Meetings/Chief of Domestic Security, would cloak that designation process in secrecy.

As of Tuesday, HB 945 had already sailed through two checkpoints in the House of Representatives: the Government Operations Subcommittee and the Judiciary Committee. It needs the approval of two more groups — the Budget Committee and State Affairs Committee — before it could advance to the full House.

Grall's bills have also made it through at least one committee already.

Once a bill is passed by the applicable committees, the full House and Senate vote on it. If both chambers pass the bill, it goes to the governor's desk to be signed into law.

The 2026 legislative session runs until March 13, leaving sufficient time for the adoption of HB 945 and Grall's bills.

Recall Florida learned indirectly on Monday night that Alvarez intended to clarify HB 945 to reflect that it only applies to recognized enemies of the United States.

Alvarez's amendment has yet to materialize, however. So Recall Florida's legal team cannot say whether the changes are sufficient to prevent potential civil rights abuses.

Thus, Recall Florida urges Floridians to stay on top of their lawmakers until they present and approve satisfactory revisions. Enter your address here if you need help finding your lawmakers.

Following is the message that Recall Florida received from Jacqueline Aimee Rogers of Escambia Citizens Watch via Facebook on Monday night: